WCR This Week

SHERWOOD PARK – Prior to Vatican II, the Catholic Church celebrated every Mass in Latin. There was much pomp and ceremony, the rules were rigid. The Church was seen as the kingdom of God and everything outside was deemed evil.

"The Church was very authoritarian and prohibitive. You were not allowed to attend services in another Church," said Msgr. John Hamilton, presenting a brief overview of recent Church history.

Thinking in catholic terms about a global economy ought to be natural. Catholic means global, universal, transcending boundaries. But a Catholic proposal for regulating the global economy has stirred a battle between left and right within the Church.

Following is the text of the witness talk by British educator David Wells at the Oct. 27 session of Nothing More Beautiful.

I want to thank Archbishop Smith and Rita and Natalie for inviting me, in 25 short minutes, to try and offer a witness to three themes: commitment to the person of Jesus, obedience to him, and the way of the cross. I just want to say "Hello" to a few people from the schools and the school boards who know me; I see friendly and familiar faces.

David Wells recalled the day as a young teacher when he learned that his job was to teach with God more than about God.

Wells taught in a school in a rough area of Liverpool, England, where the students were thought to be unteachable. But he was making progress and one day was eager to hand back an assignment to his students that showed there was hope for them.

VATICAN CITY – A holistic education of children and young people must include religious education in accordance with the wishes of the children's parents, Pope Benedict said.

The teaching of religion in public schools, "far from signifying that the state assumes or imposes a specific religious creed, indicates a recognition of religion as a necessary value for the holistic formation of the person," the pope said Oct. 31.

OTTAWA – Representatives of 30 faith communities and organizations have asked politicians to mine the world's religious traditions for the spiritual resources to meet the climate change crisis.

"Climate change is a global crisis and requires global solutions that put the well-being of all people first – especially the most vulnerable," said the Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership on Climate Change.